Going West with Others by Bhaktimarga Swami

3718491624?profile=RESIZE_710x
 I traveled with four other spiritual leaders by plane. We were enroute to our Canadian leaders’ meeting, to be held in Venables Valley, British Columbia. It was a prolonged travel, which included missing a connecting flight. It was too bad. However, we had each other, sparing the five of us from stress. I did take the time for a few minutes to read an article from the West Jet Flight magazine, about the topic of ‘loneliness’. I’ll share some of the info.

Dr. Ami Pokach, a clinical psychologist at York University in Toronto, shares his advice and tips on the factors behind the rise of loneliness.

“One is our culture. In Western culture, independence is the most important thing. And actually, as humans, we are wired to need other people. Two is technology. Facebook helps some people deal with loneliness, [but for] many, it intensifies loneliness because they see the beautiful pictures people post and they say, ‘Look at my life. I fall short.’”
 
“Loneliness is known to cause people to view themselves negatively. It affects our spirit and our health. Stress—and loneliness causes stress—is known to cause sleep disturbances and to elevate heart rate, blood pressure and cortisol levels creating a state of emergency in the body.”

“People who are lonely may look at [travelling] as an opportunity to change their behaviours. They may try things they [wouldn’t] try [at home], like seeking places where people congregate, smiling at people, engaging in a conversation with the people they meet and making new friends.”

The excerpts are good. Pokach said something further on in the article that I liked, about aloneness or being able to be alone without experiencing loneliness. https://www.westjetmagazine.com/story/article/loneliness
 
E-mail me when people leave their comments –

You need to be a member of ISKCON Desire Tree | IDT to add comments!

Join ISKCON Desire Tree | IDT